Ipsos

Ipsos Group S.A. is a Paris-headquartered multinational market research and consulting company. Founded in France in 1975 by Didier Truchot, the business initially focused on advertising and media research, developing tools to measure the effectiveness of outdoor advertising and the readership habits of professional audiences. It later expanded into public opinion research, customer and brand studies, audience measurement, healthcare research, social and political polling, and data-driven consulting. The company grew from a French specialist into an international research network largely through acquisitions and partnerships. During the 1990s it established or acquired operations in major European markets, including Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Central Europe. It subsequently expanded into Latin America, North America, and Asia-Pacific. Important transactions included the acquisition of Novaction businesses in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico in 1997, ASI Market Research in the United States in 1998, and Angus Reid in Canada, which became Ipsos-Reid, in 2000. Ipsos also acquired the MORI business in the United Kingdom in 2005, creating Ipsos MORI, and acquired Aegis Group’s Synovate division in 2011. The Synovate transaction substantially increased Ipsos’s global scale and made it one of the world’s largest research agencies. Ipsos became publicly traded on Euronext Paris on 1 July 1999. Its services are delivered through a mixture of syndicated studies, customized projects, recurring trackers, probability-based and opt-in panels, qualitative research, digital measurement, and consulting. Depending on the market, the company conducts telephone, face-to-face, online, mobile, and other forms of research. In the United States, its KnowledgePanel uses address-based sampling to recruit households and provides internet access where necessary, with survey results weighted against official demographic benchmarks. The group serves consumer goods, financial services, automotive, retail, healthcare, technology and telecommunications, media, public-sector, political, and other clients. Its branded capabilities include Ipsos UU for qualitative and user understanding work, Ipsos MMA for marketing measurement and analytics, Ipsos Digital for digital research and data collection, and Synthesio for social intelligence and listening. Country operations have also used local names, including Ipsos MORI in the United Kingdom until 2022 and Ipsos Reid in Canada. Didier Truchot became chairman after stepping down as chief executive in 2021, when Ben Page became CEO. Ipsos reported offices in 87 countries and approximately 20,000 employees in the mid-2020s. Its current identity combines large-scale international fieldwork with sector expertise, polling, analytics, and advisory services. Like other research companies, Ipsos has faced scrutiny over polling performance, data-commercialization proposals, and the methodological limitations inherent in forecasting elections and measuring public opinion.

Ipsos was established in France in 1975 by Didier Truchot, who had previously worked at the Institut français d’opinion publique. The company initially concentrated on research for advertising and media organizations. In 1977 it introduced the Baromètre d’Affichage, designed to evaluate outdoor advertising effectiveness, and in 1979 it launched France des Cadres Actifs, a study of reading patterns among French executives. The business later broadened into opinion research under the leadership of Truchot and Jean-Marc Lech and became one of France’s important media and public-opinion research firms by the end of the 1980s. During the 1990s, Ipsos pursued European growth through acquisitions and entered Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Central Europe. In 1992 it opened its capital to outside investment while Truchot and Lech retained substantial control. Mid-decade investors included Artemis and Amstar, whose participation helped finance a wider international strategy. Ipsos entered Latin America through Novaction operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico in 1997, and North America through the acquisition of ASI Market Research in 1998. It listed on Euronext Paris in 1999, giving the group additional capital for expansion. Around the same period it participated in the MMXI Europe internet-audience venture and acquired NFO subsidiaries involved in access panels. The Canadian Angus Reid acquisition was completed in 2000 and the operation became Ipsos-Reid. The company continued to assemble a global network in the 2000s. In the United Kingdom, Ipsos acquired Research Services Ltd., whose roots went back to 1946, and later bought MORI in 2005 for a reported £88 million, combining the businesses as Ipsos MORI. The group also developed partnerships in media and economic polling, including a 2009 arrangement with Thomson Reuters to conduct multinational surveys for publication through Reuters. A major turning point came in October 2011, when Ipsos acquired Synovate from Aegis Group. The transaction greatly increased geographic reach and research capacity and positioned Ipsos as the world’s third-largest research agency according to the contemporary account. In 2018 Ipsos acquired Synthesio, adding a specialized social intelligence and listening platform. Local brands were gradually consolidated: Ipsos MORI in the UK adopted the shorter Ipsos name in 2022, while the Canadian operation formerly known as Ipsos Reid also operates under the global Ipsos identity. Leadership changed in November 2021 when Ben Page became chief executive and Didier Truchot moved into the chairman role. Ipsos subsequently expanded its business-to-business capabilities through the acquisition of Xperiti in 2023. Its operating model combines customized client work with recurring syndicated studies, panels, qualitative programs, digital research, public polling, audience measurement, and analytics. In the mid-2020s the group reported operations in 87 countries and approximately 20,000 employees. Its history reflects the broader transformation of market research from traditional interviewing and media measurement toward integrated digital data, social intelligence, behavioral analytics, and advisory services.

1. 2023Xperiti acquisition

   Ipsos acquires a New York-based business-to-business research company.

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2. 2022Ipsos MORI rebrands as Ipsos

   The UK operation adopts the group’s shorter global brand name.

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3. 2021Ben Page becomes CEO

   Ben Page succeeds Didier Truchot as chief executive, with Truchot remaining chairman.

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4. 2018Synthesio acquisition

   Ipsos adds Synthesio’s social intelligence and listening capabilities.

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5. 2011Synovate acquisition

   Ipsos acquires Aegis Group’s Synovate division, significantly increasing global scale.

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6. 2005MORI is acquired and merged with Ipsos UK

   The British businesses combine under the Ipsos MORI name.

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7. 2000Angus Reid becomes Ipsos-Reid

   The Canadian business acquired by Ipsos is renamed Ipsos-Reid.

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8. 1999Euronext Paris listing

   Ipsos becomes a publicly traded company on 1 July.

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9. 1998Entry into North America

   Ipsos acquires ASI Market Research in the United States.

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10. 1997Entry into Latin America

    Ipsos acquires Novaction operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.

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11. 1992Ipsos opens its capital to private investment

    Outside investment provides capital for the company’s European and international expansion.

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12. 1979France des Cadres Actifs is introduced

    The FCA study measures reading habits among French executives and professional audiences.

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13. 1977Outdoor advertising effectiveness service launches

    Ipsos introduces the Baromètre d’Affichage to measure the effectiveness of billboard advertising.

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14. 1975Ipsos is founded in France

    Didier Truchot establishes Ipsos as a French market and media research company.

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An independent, globally scaled market research and evidence-based consulting partner combining survey data, qualitative insight, audience measurement, analytics, and sector expertise.

• Ipsos DigitalDigital research

  A digital research and data-collection capability supporting online surveys, rapid studies, mobile research, and other technology-enabled approaches. It forms part of Ipsos’s effort to combine scalable fieldwork with automated or digitally delivered research workflows.

• Ipsos MMAMarketing analytics

  A marketing measurement and analytics offering used to evaluate marketing effectiveness, connect investment with business outcomes, and inform allocation decisions. It reflects Ipsos’s expansion beyond data collection into modeling, attribution, optimization, and decision support.

• Ipsos UUQualitative research

  Ipsos’s qualitative and user-understanding practice. It uses interviews, observation, group work, communities, and related methods to explore consumer motivations, experiences, needs, and reactions to products, services, brands, and communications.

• SynthesioSocial intelligence

  A social intelligence and social listening platform acquired by Ipsos in 2018. The service helps organizations monitor online conversation, identify themes and signals, and use social data alongside other forms of market and reputation research.

• KnowledgePanelSurvey panel

  Ipsos’s US probability-based online panel. Households are recruited using address-based sampling, and members may receive internet access when needed. Researchers draw general-population or targeted samples and weight results using demographic information and official US survey benchmarks.

• Public opinion pollingOpinion research

  Ipsos conducts political, economic, social, and public-policy polling in multiple countries. Projects may use telephone, face-to-face, online, mobile, or mixed methodologies, with sampling and weighting approaches tailored to the population and research question.

• 2009Ipsos–Thomson Reuters multinational polling partnership

  Global

  Ipsos partnered with Thomson Reuters on cross-national polling covering consumer issues, politics, and economic confidence, with results distributed through Reuters.

  Outcome. Expanded the public visibility and international distribution of Ipsos polling.

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• 2023Acquisition of XperitiM&A

  Ipsos aimed to strengthen its business-to-business research offering.

  What changed. Ipsos acquired New York-based B2B research company Xperiti.

  Aftermath. The transaction expanded Ipsos’s capabilities in business and professional-audience research.

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• 2022UK brand consolidationStrategy

  The UK operation had traded as Ipsos MORI since the 2005 merger with MORI.

  What changed. The business shortened its public name to Ipsos.

  Aftermath. The change aligned the UK operation more closely with the group’s global brand architecture.

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• 2021Leadership transitionStrategy

  After leading Ipsos since its foundation, Didier Truchot moved from the chief executive role.

  What changed. Ben Page became CEO and Truchot remained chairman.

  Aftermath. The transition preserved founder involvement while placing day-to-day executive leadership with a new CEO.

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• 2018Acquisition of SynthesioM&A

  Demand was increasing for digital conversation monitoring and social intelligence.

  What changed. Ipsos acquired Synthesio.

  Aftermath. Ipsos added a dedicated social listening and intelligence capability to its research portfolio.

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• 2011Acquisition of SynovateM&A

  Ipsos sought greater global scale and broader capabilities in a consolidating research-services industry.

  What changed. Ipsos acquired Aegis Group’s Synovate division.

  Aftermath. The combined organization became one of the world’s largest research agencies and materially broadened Ipsos’s international footprint.

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• 1999Public listing to fund international expansionStrategy

  Ipsos was expanding beyond France and needed capital to support acquisitions, partnerships, and geographic growth.

  What changed. The company listed on Euronext Paris on 1 July 1999.

  Aftermath. The listing provided a platform for continued expansion across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

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• 2013Proposed commercialization of anonymized mobile data in the UKControversy

  News reporting examined discussions involving Ipsos MORI, EE subscriber data, and possible reports for organizations including the Metropolitan Police. Ipsos stated that it received anonymized information and supplied only aggregated results covering groups larger than 50 people. The Metropolitan Police said it would not proceed with the discussions.

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• 2023Ipsos acquires Xperiti

  Ipsos announced the acquisition of New York-based business-to-business research company Xperiti.

  M&A
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• 2023Analysis finds limited winner-prediction accuracy for Ipsos US election polls

  A FiveThirtyEight analysis of the 2021–2022 US election cycle found that Ipsos polls correctly identified winners in a minority of contests during the final three weeks. The result illustrates the uncertainty surrounding polling-based election forecasts rather than establishing that all Ipsos research is inaccurate.

  Other
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• 2022Ipsos UK drops the MORI name

  The United Kingdom operation changed its public-facing name from Ipsos MORI to Ipsos.

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• 2021Ben Page becomes chief executive

  Ben Page succeeded founder Didier Truchot as chief executive, while Truchot continued as chairman.

  Leadership change
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• 2019Australian polling performance prompts media relationship review

  After Ipsos and other polling organizations failed to anticipate the result of the Australian federal election, Nine Entertainment discontinued its political-polling relationship with Ipsos, while continuing to publish some non-political research.

  Other
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• 2018Ipsos acquires Synthesio

  Ipsos acquired Synthesio, a social intelligence and social listening platform.

  M&A
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• 2011Ipsos acquires Synovate

  The acquisition of Aegis Group’s Synovate division significantly expanded Ipsos’s international research operations.

  M&A
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• 1999Ipsos becomes publicly traded on Euronext Paris

  Ipsos completed its listing on the Paris stock exchange, supporting subsequent international expansion.

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1. Ipsos
2. Ipsos official website